7 de diciembre de 2016

CfP: Food Anxieties in Twentieth Century Britain and Ireland

Call for papers: Food anxieties in Twentieth Century Britain and Ireland

Friday 7th April 2017

Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, Ulster University.

BA-03-019-3 (Board Room, Belfast campus)

The twentieth century witnessed mounting anxiety about what we eat. In
the western world obesity rates rose, the popularity of ‘junk food’
raised concerns about dietary health, and constant food scares caused
deep unease. Partly in response to such problems,
the post-war period saw rising interest in organic food, vegetarian
diets and health foods. The changing epidemiological structure of
western societies meant that people were more likely to live longer but
suffer from chronic illness such as diabetes and heart
disease linked by medical scientists to poor dietary choices.

This workshop will explore anxieties that surrounded food in
twentieth-century Britain and Ireland. It asks: In what ways were diet,
health and illness linked? To what extent was nutritional advice
scientifically objective or moralising in nature? How did consumers
interpret the diverse messages emanating from medical scientists and
other dietary advisors? In what ways did new medical discourses on ideal
weight stigmatise the obese? Did the new diets of an increasingly
multicultural society raise health concerns? And
how much attention did consumers and patients actually pay to changing
warnings about over-eating and negative nutrition?

While a rich historiographical literature on topics such as obesity
exists in relation to North America, this workshop seeks to build a
network of active researchers with an interest in British and Irish
contexts with a view to forging future collaborations.
The interdisciplinary event is open to researchers from all relevant
disciplines whose research examines the intersection between diet,
health and illness.

Potential themes could include:

Dietary change in twentieth-century Britain and Ireland

Moralising tendencies in dietary advice

Food scares and their meanings

Health, diet and well-being

Eating and emotional cultures

The rise of fast food and health foods

Food politics and public health

Vegetarianism

Ethnic diversity in the British and Irish diets

The ethics of consuming and producing

Cultures of dieting and dietary ‘fads’

This Wellcome Trust-sponsored event, organised by Dr Ian Miller
(lecturer at Ulster University) and Dr Bryce Evans (senior lecturer at
Liverpool Hope University) will take place on 10 April 2017 at the
Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, Ulster University,
Belfast campus.

A keynote address will be delivered by Dr Matthew Smith, University of Strathclyde).

A limited amount of funding is available to speakers to cover transport costs.